Protest against mass housing development

NEARLY 200 people protested against mass housing development outside New County Hall in Truro yesterday afternoon.New campaign group Our Cornwall, which was formed to fight for more sustainable planning policies, delivered a letter signed by 45 organisations to the authority.It calls on councillors to seek an alternative to what they call an economically bankrupt, environmentally irresponsible and culturally disastrous policy of never-ending housing and population growth.Bernard Deacon, spokesman for Our Cornwall, challenged Cornwall Councillors saying: "Do you support the council's de-facto policy that will result in a million people living in Cornwall, twice the present number, by the end of the century?"Do you support your council's plan to increase the building rate by 20 per cent at a time when long-term population growth trends are falling?"Or will you join with us in seeking a more responsible, more sustainable policy that respects those things that makes Cornwall a special place?"See next week's West Briton for more details and photos.

Comments

Truro 'England': if you are under 23 and your partner is unemployed don't get pregnant. And for Taxman 100 it makes no sense to destroy the sensitive and geographically limited area of Cornwall for more and more and more population growth leading to more poor jobs, unemployment etc etc. Population growth has not worked for Cornwall. House building does not deliver sustainable jobs.

There are hundreds of sites which have been lying idle for many years which could easily be brought back into use if only the council had the will to do it. But no they have to build more and more estates taking up valuable land to do it which could be used for food production. Planners? A 10 year old could do better.

@ Taxman100
We really cannot build any more large scale housing developments in Cornwall - there's no more room.
In addition to housing we would also require massive increases in infrastructure: sewers, water, power, roads, schools, law enforcement etc.
The only ones who stand to gain from this are the likes of Charles the eco- prince and profiteering environmental vandals of his ilk who (for example) are concreting over farm land on the outskirts of Truro to build yet another supermarket (in spite of there being a suitable brown field site in Truro City centre) to service their own greed
The problem of over population is not simply a Cornish one, it is the driven by uncontrolled mass immigration into the UK and the solution is in the hands of UK national government.
This doesn't mean that we should not bring pressure to bear on Cornwall Council for local solutions to local problems (though I wouldn't recommend holding one's breath).
However, our votes at the next general election are equally important. A vote for any of the Lib/Lab/Con parties is a vote for more of the same. That leaves only the toytown nationalists (think 'Dick Cole') or UKIP.

Fact: the population of Cornwall has increased substantially during the last century; which will almost certainly continue throughout the current one.
Fact: the increased numbers in the population will have to be accommodated somewhere. So how, and where, do we accommodate them if we do not build extra housing?
If 'Our Cornwall' can tell us how they intend to solve this conundrum, then we might just listen to what they have to say.
Do they wish to restrict the number of children permitted to be born and live in Cornwall?
Do they wish to remove all those who 'are not of Cornish origin' from the county?
Do they wish to prevent others, from across the Tamar, from coming to live in the County? etc., etc., etc!

Good on them. Let's hope it is the start of something bigger - people waking up from their slumbers and demanding Cornwall Council actually reflects the public will, instead of riding roughshod over it.

The 'I'm alright jack home owners' are out in force!
We need more houses built because locals breed too and need a roof over there heads, I know atleast 3 girls under the age of 23 all pregnant and Cornish on the social housing list.
My point is neither then nor there partners work! They are local and born here not moved to Cornwall with lots money and finally will all live a life on benefits!!

Well done Bernard Deacon and others. This getting together of Cornwall's many environmental groups and other organisations is long overdue. It is the only way we are going to have a future worth living.